If Labour are to have any chance at this year’s Election, they need to avoid sideshows and stick to their core message. The party was plagued by sideshows in 2014. This not only made them look unorganised, but it also prevented them getting their message out before the Election. Although I’m still not sure what that message was. You’ll remember some of the sideshows. They included David Cunliffe apologising for everything under the sun, complaints about Mike Hosking moderating an Election...

Prime Minister Bill English and opposition leader Andrew Little have both made positive image changes over the last few months that will help potential voters identify with them. Clearly John Key was the expert at this. How many times did you hear statements like, “He’s the sort of guy you’d be comfortable having a beer with?” That may say something about New Zealand’s drinking culture, but it’s important when it comes to influencing swinging voters. English and Little don’t have that...

He may be one of the best tennis players to ever grace the court, but it’s the communication skills of Roger Federer that make him one of the game’s most popular characters. He proved this again after his Australian Open victory on Sunday. Fans want to know how their sporting heroes tick and how they feel after historic wins or devastating losses. They want to hear answers that they can’t predict. How many time have you heard a sportsperson say they...

The only way for minor parties that don’t have a seat in Parliament to become relevant on Election Day is through news media coverage. That’s a tough job, particularly since they don’t have the resources that come with parliamentary representation. But it’s a job that Gareth Morgan seems to understand. It’s not enough for these parties to focus on their policy. That won’t get them much attention, unless it’s radical and they get highly pro-active. The way to do it is...

He’s always been known as a great communicator, but there’s one specific thing that Bill English and Andrew Little could both learn from the media skills of Baraka Obama. Whether it’s a media interview, a press conference or a presentation, his body language is a big reason why he is so effective. He always looks as if he wants to be there, showing passion and energy every time. A major part of this is how he expresses himself with his hands....

Donald Trump has put many US business leaders on edge over the last few months with his attack tweets that seem to come from nowhere. Ford and Toyota have both seen their share price drop after tweets from Trump threatening border taxes for cars built offshore and sold in America. The tweets were not even totally accurate. These are just two examples and show just how damaging social media attacks can be on business and other groups. This has been...

How many times have you read a headline in an online news story that looks exciting, but ends up quite misleading if you bother to click the link for more detail. This is called click bait and has the sole intention of getting you to read further. The recent controversy with Michelle Boag’s ‘Barely coffee-coloured’ comment is the latest of many examples. She made the comment in relation to a specific claim by the women accusing Peter Leitch of racism. The...

One thing that many businesses found towards the end of 2016 was that a crisis can strike out of the blue without warning. I’m obviously talking about earthquakes, but crises can take many forms. They can be the death of staff, data breaches, staff bullying accusation, embezzlement or a myriad of other possibilities. What stands out for you? Do you hold confidential information? Are you responsible for a group of people? Or is it something else that could damage your reputation...

If you were keeping up with the news in November and early December, you will have seen how much space was taken up by the Earthquake. This is understandable because it was obviously big news. But what it also meant was that many other issues were kept off the news pages because there was only so much room. For example, there was little coverage of protests about the US Navy ship visiting New Zealand. When big news events like this happen,...

My media spokesperson of the year award has never gone to a sportsperson. That is until now. This year it goes to Paralympian star Liam Malone. Why? He clearly stood out among all sportspeople in 2016 with his ability to generate interest in his sport and give journalists fantastic sound bites and quotes to bring their stories to life. Who could forget this one. “I felt tired. I was just saying to myself 'kick it up a gear mate, your mum...